Family Ties
Kiana King's Biography I was born Kiana Marie King in Lawton, Oklahoma on the Ft. Sill army base to Revecca Jones and Darryl King. When I was two years old my mother and I moved to Dallas, Texas. When I was 11 years old my mother and I moved to Houston, Texas where we remained until recently. I was raised in a single parent home, but my grandparents from both parents helped raised me. I come from a military background because my grandfathers served in the military together. My father's parents are deceased, so I thought it would be easier to do my mother’s parents because they are still alive. My family tree is a little surprising because of the age difference in my grandparents and the lack of records due to slavery. I enjoyed finding the history of my family and I can't wait to find more of it. A shear-cropper, entrepreneur, and a teacher The farthest I was able to go back to was my maternal grandfather’s parents, and my maternal great-grandparents. My maternal great-grandparents from my grandfather were shear-croppers in Mineral Springs, Arkansas. My great grandmother was Minnie Lee Jones, and my great grandfather was Charlie Jones. Their birth places were unknown because of lack of documentation. My great-grandparents had nine children and my grandfather was the second to the youngest child. His parents bought acres of land in their town and used it to farm animals and pick cotton to sell. In that time it was rare to see a Black family own anything in a rural area let alone their own land. My great-grandmother was able to read up to a fourth grade level. My great grandfather's capabilities were unknown or kept a secret. Their history is unknown to any current generation other than their children. My maternal grandmother’s parents originated from Boley, Oklahoma and Ogden, Arkansas. My Great grandmother, Noneta Felicia Barnes, was born in Boley, Oklahoma. Her parents died a year apart from each other, which left her and her three siblings as orphans. Luckily family members from California took them in and allowed my great grandmother to get her education at the University of California, Los Angeles while she worked. She got her degree in teaching, soon afterwards she married a divorcee named Charles Barnes. Charles Barnes history is unknown. Charles and Noneta started their lives in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He owned his own cleaning business, and she taught at the local public schools. They had four children, and the oldest is my grandmother Carolyn Anita Jones. In 1971 Charles Barnes died due to complications from diabetes, and left his family with his secret debt. He would let people borrow money and tax them interest when they would pay him back, however people would pay him late causing him to accumulate debt. Noneta had to sell her house and the business to pay all of his debt, and then moved her and her youngest child to a different city to find a better job. She retired and her children went on to have good jobs. A head strong woman and the heart throbe Carolyn Anita Jones is the oldest of three children and was raised in a strong gender role house hold. She was forced to watch her brother and sisters, clean the whole house (including her parent’s room), cook dinner, and practice her religion of Catholicism. Her parents worked so she was the head of the house hold because her parents needed the extra help. When Carolyn was old enough her parents sent her to school in St. Louis called St. Louis University school of Nursing. Due to the close ties her parents had on her, it caused Carolyn to be in experience in the world. She exercised her freedom through social gathering, which became an obstacle with her school work. Her parents ended up making her come home because until she was ready to go back. She graduated and got her degree in Nursing. She came back home and decided she wanted to join the air force and was taking certain moves to complete the goal. Her parents did not agree so they decided to introduce her to a friend of theirs, so she could get married. The gentleman had been previously divorced twice, and was looking for a new wife. They were introduced at her house, and she was charmed by his smile, style, and charisma. They were married within a couple of years and had three girls. The oldest, Revecca Anita Jones, is my mother. (She also completed her Master’s degree in Nursing, and went on to be a dean at Oklahoma City Community College.) Reva Lee Jones was nine-teen years old when he joined the navy. His father had previously died, which left their mother with one income, so he wanted to help pay for her expenses. With his paycheck he also helped pay for some of his nieces and nephews college tuition. One of his nieces, Joycelyn Elders, became the first African American U.S Surgeon General during Bill Clinton's administration. He attended the University of Oklahoma and was able to receive his degree in history. Known for his kind heart, charisma, intelligence, and joking personality, made it easy for him to find a wife. His first divorce happened when he was fighting in World War two. His second divorce happened during the Korean War, and was also the product of his first child. His last wife was my grandmother who was 20 years old when they got married, while he was 37 years-old. Raised as a provider he spent hours creating the perfect house for his family in Lawton, Oklahoma. His house was known around the neighborhood as a social house. My grandmother divorced him in 1979 after the reconciliation which resulted in their last child. Reva Lee Jones has since sworn off marriage for good. As the last child living from his parents, he currently moved back on his family land in Mineral Springs, Arkansas. Revecca Anita Jones AKA my mamsy My mother was born in Lawton, Oklahoma on Ft. Sill military base December, 28, 1979. She was born premature due to the lack of knowledge about smoking during that time. She was raised in a military house hold and was taught to clean like soldiers. Due to her mother’s background with gender roles, she raised my mother to do all the house hold choirs, and to take care of the children. He parents were divorced when she was ten years old, which became hard on her because of the traveling and responsibility she had to obtain. When she got into high school she met a kid named Darryl King who was a native Lawton, Oklahoma boy. His parents were a military family also, and he had three older brothers. After high school she went on to college at St. Gregory's University, Kansas State, and Cameron University. She had her only child when she was 22 years old with her then fiancé Darryl King, but became a single parent he next year. With the help of her parents and her ex-fiancées parents she was able to continue he education and graduate with a degree in Human Resources. She made location moves to help her chances at providing for her child in hopes to better both of their lives. A great opportunity came for her to move to Houston, Texas to work at MD Anderson Cancer hospital as a manger in medical records and billing. She also decided to get her Master’s degree at Texas Women University in Administration while her daughter was in high school. Family traditions On my grandfather side is a tradition that his distant and close relatives come down for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is always held at my grandfather’s house, even though several other family members have house in the area. My family believes in respect for the elders, for that reason I think Thanksgiving is always held at my grandfather’s house. The men in my family usually hunt the whole week for deer, and the women usually spend that week cooking the dinner. Gender roles are prevalent in my family because of the great traditions that are enforced from previous generations. The women are pushed to obtain all of lives opportunity, but at the same time are required to maintain their female household rules of cooking and cleaning. The women in my family usually can do both without problems because of all the help they give each other. The women in my family are just as feared and strong as the men. In some instances they make the men cry with their fist and words. We maintain our femininity, but are still respected when we establish our dominance. During Thanksgiving this can be seen with the constant mean jokes family members play on each other. Thanksgiving is my favorite time because my family from Detroit, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Arkansas come down and reunite to enjoy each other’s company. My reflection My family is the bases of my morals and values. The reason I believe in some gender roles and some traditions. I do believe a woman should cook and clean a little more than a man, but women should also be able to be president. Self-identity is formed through society because my family helped shape my views of what a woman should be. They taught me what is it is to be black, and how we as people should be treated and how we should treat other. I do believe respect should be granted to all human beings because my family comes in all different backgrounds, races, and sizes. My family is the reason why I want to have nine kids because I love how it creates gigantic future generations. My family is the reason why Thanksgiving is such a special holiday, without them I wouldn't have as many memories as I do. They debate with me all day just for the heck of it, without those debates I wouldn't be as mentally strong as I am. They are the reason why I talk so loud because we laugh and get so excited when we talk we have to talk over each other. They are the reason why I love my history and I am happy that I get to document my history so my future family members get to see my past. I wish I could have an opportunity to have a time line like my other classmates, but because of slavery, lack of education, lost records, forced undocumented paper I have a short time line. I hope to one day figure out the exact origin of my history. Family Tree and Links http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/54579369/family http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/elders-joycelyn-minnie-1933 http://www.city-data.com/city/Mineral-Springs-Arkansas.html